


Anything new since I was gone?

by SalmonWM



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Complete, Friends to Lovers, Kick, M/M, bad confidence check, complete work, emotional fight, klance, klangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:33:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24796219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalmonWM/pseuds/SalmonWM
Summary: Langst/Klance. Keith gets back to the team after the mission with Krolia. Pidges dad has left, and Keith is happy to reunite and learn everyones progress. Beside Lances.Complete work.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Kudos: 66





	Anything new since I was gone?

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, this was originally a fic I made in 2018 and published on fanfiction.net.  
> I wanted to bring it here, as a full-on finished work with some changes. It was originally supposed to be chapters where I would change the point of view (POV) because I like to do that when I write. That didn't work here, but I hope the solution isn't too bad.  
> Enjoy!

[Lance's POV]

The altean doors swooshed open as The Blade walked in, arriving at the exact time for the meeting to start. Allura and Shiro nodded towards them, and sat down around the huge table in the middle of the meeting room. The rest of the coalition was present, either in person or on big screens. 

Lance was happy to see Keith back, even though he was still under the Blade. He looked good.

“How’s it going, mullet? Made any progress with the blade?” He grinned and bumped his elbow into the side of Keith. He let out a big grin, lowkey scaring Lance. Why did he look so smug right now?

Oh god Keith was so hot with that smug fucking smile.

“I have something great I want to show you guys,” he grinned. 

The meeting started.

Kolivan rose from his seat, and took the first words.

“I want to introduce you all to our ‘new’ member of the Blade. As she has already been an undercover infiltrator for the Blades for many years, she is now part of the main group, after she blew her cover in her last mission. Her name is Krolia, and we should probably mention that she is also the-”

“She’s my mother.” Keith interrupted with an exiting smile, too fond of this to let Kolivan announce the great news.

“Wait WHAT-”  
Lance could hear the whole room cheer, some were confused (like he was) and some were supportive. Some were worried since she blew her cover. 

“Your.. what?” Lance looked at his half-galra team-mate. Keith smiled from ear to ear, not hearing Lances words.

As they kept talking, the altean doors swooshed open again, now a single person entered. Kolivan rose again and pointed at the slim creature standing in the entrance.

“This is Krolia. Our new member. She has a lot of information that we need and find useful, so please give her a respectable nod before she begins explaining the plan. 

Everyone nodded.

…

“Wow, who would have thought he’d find his mom ON A MISSION?” Hunk was so amazed that he forgot the meat he grilled, leaving an oozing smell of burnt food. His eyes averted the food and didn’t move an inch from the wall. 

“Yeah! It’s almost as impossible as the fact that I found my parents! At least Krolia is on OUR side.” Pidge joined in on the conversation, waiting for her now black burger. She tried to poke Hunk in the side to get him back. Didn’t work.

“Well yeah, at least she’s on our side. I hope. What if she’s not? Like, it seems like Galra people at good at acting. Since, you know, Lotor etc..” Hunk blinked.

Pidge nodded, now reaching her plate out for the burger.

“What do you think, Lance?” she looked over at him now. He hadn’t said anything about the matter since the meeting ended. Both Hunk and Pidge had expected him to be the first to bring this up.

“What I think about what?” Lance asked. He obviously knew what Pidge asked about, but he didn’t want to say his part. Not yet at least.

“Wasn’t she cute, then? Lance, you always flirt with alien girls, why didn’t you flirt with Krolia? She’s pretty! She’s handsome! Or are you afraid since it’s Keiths mom?” Hunk made kissy faces and grinned. 

Lance looked him dead in the eyes and shook his head.

Hunk felt chills go down his back, and now he felt really stupid for ridiculing his best friend. 

He was totally wrong; Lance wasn’t just a big flirt. He should apologize before Lance walks off.

“Lance, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that at all, I-”

“It’s okay”

“I don’t think you mean that, Lance-” Pidge tried to help. His line sounded so fake.

“I said it’s fine, so leave it, okay?” He rose from his chair.

“I’m going to my room.” he said in a dry and flat voice. As he put back the chair, he also left behind his plate packed with untouched food. Hunk nor Pidge commented on it. But they both exhanged worried looks with their eyes as he walked out. The doors opened up right before Lance, and in front of him were Keith and Krolia standing tall.

“Hey Lance! We’ve just finished touring the castle with mom. What’s going on here?” Keith looked so genuinely happy, which only seemed to bring Lance down even more. But he didn’t want Keith to feel sorry for him. 

On with the mask.

“Hey Keith! Krolia! No, nothing’s up here, only Hunks amazing burgers! I highly recommend them.” Lance leaned in to Keiths face

“He’s perfected the meat-taste. It actually feels and tastes like burgers!”

Keith lightened up with that, and moved towards Hunk and Pidge.

“Guys, do you wanna know how I met her? It’s completely insane! Okay, so it was a regular mission, and she was-”

Gone.

The doors swooshed together behind Lance. He took a deep breath.

“It’s okay, Lance. Go train. Do what you do.” He let out another breath. 

“For mom.”

…

“Lance!” 

He looked behind himself, just as another bot began swinging its sword towards him. Lance impressed himself with a slightly angled backflip before he sliced the robot in two. 

A single whistling sound were audible as he yelled “End training sequence”. 

“That looked great! You might even be a better fighter than me!” It was Keith. 

It was definitely Keith. 

WHY did it have to be Keith all the time? 

Lance let out a sigh.

“Are you here to laugh at me?” He didn’t move, just stayed with his back turned to Keith.

“Why would I? You are the only person I haven’t had a proper conversation with since I came back!”

“So what?”

“I came back two days ago,” Keith made a point. But he wasn’t going to get that point.

“I’ve been busy.”

Keith let out a sigh. He raised his hand up to Lances shoulder to turn him around, but Lance refused to turn. The half-galra growled and jumped around him to meet his face. By the look on Lances face, he had not expected that to happen.

Keith let a crooked smile glide from the cubans reaction. But there was something on Keiths face that Lance's attention caught. 

“A scar..?” Lance whispered to himself, not sure if Keith heard him or not. Without realizing, his hand was now touching Keiths cheek. His fingers moved over the silk-like skin, following the trail of the purple scar that possessed Keiths right cheek.

The blue eyes looked up from the scar to realize his friends face were now completely red.

Quickly, he withdrew his hand. 

“Sorry. You have a.. erm, a.. ss..” Lance stuttered. He made it awkward, damnit. 

Don’t touch. Don’t touch.

“Yeah, sorry. It seems to be Galra marks.. Mom says it comes with age.. So, yeah,” Keiths brain did not work either.

Age, huh. So he might become purple.

Lance averted his eyes, now looking at the ceiling. 

Don’t touch.

Silence.

“You wanted to ask me what?” he finally said.

“Ask you?” Keith looked up at Lance with confusion in his eyes. His mind really was blank.

“You came here for a reason, right? I’m done with training now and kinda want to go to sleep asap..” Lance knew he sounded bothered, his voice came out a tad too forceful.. Did Keith notice?

“I wanted to know if something was up, Lance.” 

The cuban glanced at his friends face, and didn’t like the seriousness in his eyes. He averted his eyes again, slowly taking a step back.

“Nothing is up, Keith.”

Keith was sure that Lance was lying.

Lance knew that Keith knew.

But as long as nobody actually asked him or handed him evidence of what he did, it was okay.

“Something is up. Please, Lance, I want you to talk to me-”

“I told you already, nothing is up!” Lances voice rose, louder than the intention. He himself got scared by the volume, but he kept it together. 

Now an angry mask.

“I’m going to bed. Good night,” he muttered before whirling around to face the exit. Keith didn’t even get to say anything back before Lance was out the door.

Keith just stood there, not sure whether he should run after him and threaten it out of him, or just. 

Let it be. He clenched his fists in frustration. 

Why did he do this?

.

Lances heart beated so hard. He’d touched Keith! He’d yelled at Keith! He literally just became the number one most hated person on Keiths enemy list right now, he was sure!

Why did this happen? Why now?

First he left for the blades, without his mom, now he’s back on the team, WITH his mom??

Lance didn’t like this. He didn’t know much about Krolia, but she might notice and spill the beans. 

If she began to ask why he didn’t eat as much as the others, everyone would begin to talk. 

Then they’d agree to talk to him about it. 

Then they’d realize he always trained instead, and put him off the team!

“I want to be on the team, no matter what..”

But what am I to them?

Am I worth it?

What if their level of good is higher than MY level of good? They’ll throw me away for sure, replace me with Keith.

No.

They'll replace me with Krolia. 

His feet began to walk towards the rooms. He’d usually train until late at night and only know the way in complete darkness in order to not gain attention from other night owls. He knew the way perfectly.   
Before he realized, he was in front of his room. His eyes didn’t work as he wanted them to; they were too blurry from the salty warm water sprouting from the lower part of his eyes.    
The tears created streams that ended on his chin. From there, they fell like small waterfalls on the floor.

He bumped his head on his door before he got it open.

As he opened the door, he felt a presence around him.

Not now.

.

“I suppose your name was Lance, am I right?”

WHY did it have to be HER, of all people? Is this the day for every Kogane to interfere with him? Should he expect Keiths dad to meet him too?

“Yeah..” Lance muttered. He was inches away from getting to be alone, getting his alone time.

“I have heard about you from Keith.” She said shortly.

Lance nodded, not looking at her. He probably talked about how stupid he was, anyway.

“Why is it that you are not the black paladin?”

Lances eyes widened.

“I did a little digging about the requirements for being its pilot together with Keith's explanations, and I came to the conclusion that the lion can only be piloted by a person who is a natural leader, who is calm and collected in the face of danger. From what Keith has told me, you are the one who fits the description. So why-”

“I’m going to stop you right there,” Lance quickly regained his cool. His heart was racing in his chest.

“I am not worthy of being the leader. I thought Keith would make it clear to you,” he tried to talk clearly, but also keep a low profile to not cause a commotion so the others would leave their rooms to find them standing there in the middle of the night. 

He knew of at least two paladins who would listen to this kind of juicy stuff.

“But you have so much within, I can tell from what my son have said! I want to know why you are not in the position you are best suited-”

“Because it is not what I deserve! If you could please, just, leave me alone..?”

His voice cracked. 

His lips trembled. 

His eyes were wet and soar, and his cheeks were flushing red.

Krolia was silent, not moving.

“As you wish, paladin.” she said shortly, bowed, and turned around. 

_"No sympathy from the Koganes, as I thought,"_ he joked in his head.

“Also. Don’t mention this conversation to the others.” He quickly added. 

She didn’t turn around.

“I won’t.”

.

.

The next day, Shiro and Allura threw a party for the paladins. They had succeeded in keeping the party a secret, and surprised them all with a big buffet and lots of bright decorations in the living room. 

They even let in Kaltenecker. She leaned in one corner of the room with hay and a bucket of water and was having the time of her life. It seemed to be Shiro's idea to make milkshakes, even though that thought seemed to horrify the two alteans.

It was also Shiros attempt to draw out Lance to be the center of attention. He knew the cuban boy needed a boost; he wasn’t the cheerful paladin he once was in the beginning of their journey.

As the paladins walked around to look at the decorations and pet Kaltenecker, they also side-eyed Krolia. As she had not been to ‘parties’ before, she was very interested but also very unsure about the paper decorations hanging from the ceiling. Thinking nobody would notice, she lightly tapped the paper a few times with her hand, smirking as she did it.

“Just like a cat,” was everyone's immediate thought.

Then they eyed Lance. Lance, who was busy looking at Keith who was busy petting Kaltenecker.

A hand was placed on Lances shoulder. He didn’t really have to turn around to see who it was;

nobody had that cold hands.

“You want me to make milkshakes, don’t you?” he said with a low voice. Today was not a good day to put on his masks. 

They didn’t stick right; this could be a problem.

“Yeah, I thought you could make them again, since you are the best at milking! Also, it seems like Kaltenecker likes you the most.” Shiro smiled, looking actually confident and happy about his offer.

Lance couldn’t really say no either. It was true, his milkshake WAS the best. He curled up a small smirk, and pulled up the arms on his black sweater. It was showtime.

Keith moved aside, and Kaltenecker seemed happy to see Lance up close again. He ruffled the fur between her horns, then slowly stroked her on the side. Everyone was gathering around them.

His fingers trailed two of Kalteneckers udders, waited a moment before he began tightening the grip and pulling down. Everyone in the room who had tried to milk a cow, knew how hard it was. Their impressed faces shone down on Lance, as he began to feel a bit better.

He was helpful. He was being helpful. He was doing something the others was not that good at. 

He began to smile.

And it was genuine.

“What is that?” Krolia asked. She was standing behind Hunk and Keith, trying to look at the show. There were small pieces of paper in her hair.

“He’s milking Kaltenecker,” Pidge said, now looking at Krolia.

“Kaltenecker is that thing, right? Why not just kill it and extract the fluid from it then?” Her face was genuine. 

Well, that WAS the Galra way..

“You need to have the milk fresh from the cow for it to be as good as possible,” Lance said, not looking at her. He focused on the long white stripes shooting from the udders.

“It looks fun. May I try?” she asked.

Lance stiffened.

No. No, nononononono. This was HIS time to shine. His time! This one time he could contribute, this one time he could show he had talents!

.. But what was a milking talent in the middle of a war?

It was worthless.

He tightened his grip around Kalteneckers udders before he released them again, now pulling his hands towards himself. 

His mood dropped.

No, nononono. 

On with the mask. Which mask? That mask. Be happy. Say something. Smile! Say something!

“Yeah, it is fun. Here, have a try,” he said, trying his hardest to smile genuinely. 

He wanted to smile genuinely. 

Krolia smiled back, and took his seat. Keith jumped in front of Lance now.

“I’d like to milk her too! Can you teach me? Teach us!” 

Keith smiled brightly, still with his scar in his face. 

The former red paladin. Former black paladin. Future red paladin. 

He tilted his head a little to the side, and smiled awkwardly. 

“Y-yeah, sure. I can teach you. I just need to go to the toilet a little.” Lance said dryly.

Krolia was taking his spotlight. His skills and talents were not of any use in the war. He would sooner or later be replaced by Keith. 

It was not a question about if, but when.

This was a nightmare.

His thoughts began to consume him.

He had to get away from his team.

[Keith's POV]

Keith muffled his laughter as he watched his mom try to milk the cow. Hunk tried his best to instruct her, but she really had no idea how hard to pull, or how to grab the udder. 

She tried to ask Katlenecker how it felt, and asked Hunk why she was naked and held captive by the Paladins.

Pidge and Allura was screaming with laughter as Krolia pulled once, and Katlenecker slapped her tail in her face. 

Shiro stood in the background, trying not to snort from laughter. 

“Oh my god Lance, I can’t believe-” Keith turned to look at the blue paladin, but didn’t see him.    
He froze for a second.

Oh yeah, he was probably still in the bathroom.

Keith shrugged, and returned to look at his mother try to calm the animal. 

While Krolia did her best, Keith walked over to Allura. She was wiping off tears as he came closer.

Her hair was put up in a loose ponytail, and she wore a pretty dress-like piece. It seemed to be a ceremonial outfit. Well, they were celebrating after all.

“Hey Allura, I have a question. Would you mind?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. She shook her head and led the way.

They walked over to the buffet, and grabbed some of the food. Allura took a few different pastries, while Keith tried the only thing that looked remotely like something from earth. It didn’t taste the same.    
He smiled at her, but now his worry appeared on his face.

Well he was a bit worried. 

“Allura, I.. Have you noticed anything about.. Lance?” he tried. His thoughts trailed back to the day before, where Lance plainly refused to tell him what was wrong. 

He was sure that Lance hated him right now.

“About Lance?” Allura asked with a louder voice than him. The others didn’t hear her.

She looked down on her plate. There was some kind of bothered sadness on her face. Her eyes looked worried.

“He has been.. hard to reach, lately. I think it began after Shiro yelled at him, but it must stick deeper than that. I have tried to make him open up to me, but he puts up an act. I cannot reach him.

And it really is a shame too, since he has progressed so much with the bayard and everything..”

Allura kept talking. This seemed to have been on her mind for some time. Keith couldn’t believe nobody had told him any of this! 

Yelling? Bayard?

“Wait up - _Shiro_ yelled at Lance?!” he didn’t want to believe it. His brows wrinkled together in shock and frustration.

“It was a moment of weakness from Shiro, he didn’t mean it-” Allura tried to calm the half-Galra. 

Her worried eyes helped him to not cause a commotion. He let out a sigh. 

He had to talk to Shiro about this later.

“You said he has progressed with the bayard. I saw him yesterday while he trained - he’s actually pretty skilled with that sword. Why has nobody told me this? Even Shiro and I can't transform our bayards!” Keith gritted his teeth. He didn’t know what to think.

Allura nodded in silence. They were silent for a second.

“When you look at the unlocking of the bayards, Lance is the unrivaled winner of that competition. He has already unlocked three versions of the bayard; two different guns and one is a sword. A longsword, of all things!”   
Something dripped from Alluras face.   
Her head fell low, covering her head with the ponytail.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be emotional about this, I just.. The sword..” her voice was weak, but she continued by telling him about the Altean broadsword that belonged to her father. 

It was special to her.

Why didn’t Lance tell him any of this?

Why didn’t he brag about this? The usual Lance would have showed off once Keith's ship landed!

That reminded him of yesterday.

Nobody mentioned the broadsword, even though it was completely new to Keith. 

He had to tell Lance.

He quickly glanced at the clock to know the time. Lance had now been gone for a good 20 minutes. Should he wait longer? He was unsure about it.   
He felt guilty for not showing more interest in Lances sword, or pursuing the paladin further to get the information. 

He really didn’t understand the new Lance.

Why didn’t he brag, take up space or make jokes?

.

Keith wanted to know, so bad.

His eyebrows wrinkled together. He tightened his lips. His stare didn’t leave the one thing on his plate that looked like a hotdog.

“Allura, are you.. SURE that this happened before Shiro.. _yelled_ at him?” 

He didn’t want to think of it as an option. Shiro was like a big brother to him, he didn’t want to think that Shiro would do such a thing! Not even to Lance!

“Keith, I truly am sorry but I don’t know.. But I am starting to believe he has forgotten his own progress with the bayard and his use in Voltron. I don’t know how to make him recognise his own power..”

Keith bit his lower lip.

“I should have told him that his fighting was good, I should have commented on the broadsword. I should have told him I was happy to see him again..” Keith felt his sight became blurry. Now he couldn’t see the hotdog.

Allura seemed to call his name, but he couldn’t hear it. What did she say? 

His head was heavy, his vision was blurry and useless now. He felt warm tears hit the hand holding his plate. 

He felt a small, warm hand touch his shoulder. 

He still could not hear what the voice said, but he understood that he should not stay at the party.

His feet moved towards the door leading out. He had so many voices and sounds in his head now, he couldn’t bear it. The voices repeated words. Names. Name.

He blamed himself for Lance. 

Where was he again?

The voices outside his head were still not audible, but the other paladins had not yet recognised the situation between him and Allura. Thankfully.

The warm hand let go of him, but gave a small push towards the doors.

Keith could only see the floor, his blurry feet and the doors that swooshed open.

Then another pair of blurry shoes.

“Lance-” Keith tried to say, but only a whimper came out. He tried to keep his sobs from making sounds. 

Another hand was placed on his back now. The feet were gone from his sight. 

The hand gave a push.

The doors swooshed together.

No more sounds from the party.

But the hand was still there?

“Are you alright?” 

Oh god it was him.

“I’m sorry, I should have told you that I-” Keith couldn’t speak more before his lungs twitched, and he began to sob. He was sure this was a stupid and ugly sight and oh god did he want to die from shame now.  He couldn’t stop sobbing.

The voice began to whisper, calmly. The voice shushed him, and the hand began to stroke his back. It was bigger than Alluras hand, and it was warmer.

“You are awesome, I know you are-” more sobbing. He couldn’t get it together, damnit! Why couldn’t he get it together?!

The warm hand gave him a small push, and they began to walk away from the closed doors. 

He saw two pairs of blurry shoes now.

.

.

“Have you calmed down now?” The cuban tilted his head and gave a small smile, and holy shit he looked gorgeous while doing so. Keith took another sip from his glass. 

They were in Keith's room now.

Even though his voice was back and he could see clearly, he was still nauseous. His heart was beating hard. 

This was awkward.

“Thanks, Lance.” he said, dryly. He tried to avoid eye contact.

What to even do now? This was not how he was supposed to meet him again- he wanted to be the one to help Lance! This was a mess!

“What even happened out there? You never cry, let alone with other people around!” Lance didn’t sound very happy. 

Maybe because he had to ditch the party because of him? Was he worried? 

No, that couldn’t be it; after yesterday, he HAD to be mad at Keith. He must be angry then.

“It was nothing, really.” 

Silence.

“But why did you help me? The party is still going, you should have just left me alone..” Keith tried to confirm his theory.

“What do you think I am? Of course I couldn’t just leave you crying in the hallway! I saw that Allura had no idea how to deal with it, so I just took over. Again, something horrible must have happened for you to become a sobbing mess. Now, spill it.

Lance didn’t take shit.

“I told you, it was nothing.”

When Keith rose his head to look at Lance, he noticed two things.

The armor was completely off.

His eyes were red.

His cheeks were puffy.

“What happened to you?” Keith asked, quietly. He couldn’t stop staring.

“Nothing, you idiot. Now sleep, or go back to the party. I’m leaving.” Lances eyebrows were already wrinkled, and he looked tired. 

He rose up above Keith, and grabbed his jacket.

Shit, now he fucked up again. 

He had to stop him from leaving!

His hand reached for the jacket. His reflexes were faster than Lances, and snapped it away from him. They looked at each other for a second, not sure what happened. 

They blinked.

“Tell me,” was all Keith could say. They blinked again.

“Tell you what?” Lance sounded angry, but unsure. He reached for the jacket, but couldn’t grab it from the Galra. He narrowed his eyes in irritation.

“What happened? Does it have anything with Shiro yelling at you?”

Fuck he should NOT have said that.

Lances eyes widened in shock and anger. He jumped in for the jacket, finally catching it. 

He pushed Keith back in his bed, and got back on the floor. 

His eyes said murder.

But they were also very sad. They betrayed the anger showing, and mixed the feeling of betrayal into the blue eyes. 

Keith felt a huge lump form in his throat.

The teens just stared at each other for a moment, until Lance snarled at Keith and turned to walk out the door. 

Keith had no idea what to do, his head was empty. 

Autopilot.

“Fuck, let GO OF ME-” Lance stumbled towards the door as Keith did his best to tackle him. His hands got a grip around the cubans waist, and didn’t let go. 

No way he was going to let go! Letting his best friend run out of his life like that?

A fist appeared in front of Keith, and pain flowed through his whole face. 

Lance punched him?!

The sudden action made Keith loosen his grip, and Lance stormed out. 

Keith didn’t even flinch; he’d been punched harder by Galras, but they were GALRA. This was his teammate, his partner, his CRUSH!

He stormed out of his own room.

Lance was walking fast, stomping his feet in th e hallway. He really sounded pissed. But Keith couldn’t let him go now. 

He reached out his hand to snag the cubans jacket again, but he missed. 

Instead, he instinctively blocked a leg from hitting his face. His eyes widened as he realized what happened. 

“Why did you..?” He stared into the blue eyes of his friend. They were glaring back, but with anger. The sadness was almost gone from the blue colour, but tears were falling in its place.

Keith felt his heart clench. 

Did he hurt him?

“I’m sorry, dude, I..”

He instinctively blocked another leg.

Lance snarled at him, gritting his teeth as he tried again to hurt his friend.

“STAY AWAY FROM ME!” he yelled, his voice trembling but still so CLEAR.

Another leg hit, but this time, Keith caught it.

Lances eyes widened as he realized his foot was captured.

“Lance, I am so sorry for what I said, would you please-” Keith were confused, he was close to tears. 

What was going on? Why did his friend fight him? What should he say? Call for help? Would Shiro handle this?

No wait - how would Shiro handle this?

A fist in his face made him lose that thought.

“Fucking- Lance I am TRYING!” now he snapped.

His hands tightened the grip around Lances leg, lifted him in one movement and threw him on the ground, still holding his foot. He saw the blue eyes widen up as he hit the floor, and it looked like it hurt. 

It really hurt him too.

“I am sorry..” Keith said in a low voice. He tried to keep his tears back.

“The fuck you ain’t!” Lance yelled, in Keiths surprise.

Then the cuban kicked him in the stomach with his free foot, rolled backwards when Keith lost his grip, and rose to a fighting position. His tears kept streaming.

“What do you mean I’m not sorry?!” Keith yelled back, trying to steady himself as he tried to get up. 

That kick hurt, damnit.

“You don’t really care, I know it!” a straight punch aimed at Keiths chest. He rolled to the side and barely avoided the hit.

“I bet you’re high in the sky now that you finally have your mom back! How does it feel to have family close to you, Keith?!” 

Another leg kick. 

Keith couldn’t block it, and it hit his side. He gasped for air.

“You’re lucky, you know? You and PIDGE-” he laughed maniacally as he kicked Keith again.

This time the Galra grabbed his leg.

Keith used his opportunity to throw Lance onto the floor again. The teen hit the Altean floor hard, and slipped a few feet along it. Keith rose to a fighting position. 

He had to stop this fight.

Or should he?

Maybe Lance needed to get this out?

Or they both needed it?

Either way, they shouldn't fight at all.

But why did he talk about his mom?

Lance stayed down for a second before he tried to stagger himself up. 

His hand failed him, and he fell down again.

“Both you and Pidge.. got to see your fucking family..” he whispered, but Keith could still hear it, clear as day.

“And not just with your fucking mom! Everyone is looking up to you, you asshole!” Lance stomped his feet as he rose and regained his pose. 

“Fuck you! Fuck Shiro! Fuck HUNK!”

He screamed.

Tears were falling.

His eyes were wild.

A loud noise was made as the cuban boy smashed his hand into the wall.

“I am nothing compared to you! But I have been on this team longer than you! You LEFT US! Why do they STILL choose you?!” 

His voice began to crack.

“Even Red wants you back..”

Lance let his guard down.

His legs gave away, and he fell onto his knees, still looking at Keith.

His eyes screamed in agony.

His anger was gone.

Now there was only tears.

Keith didn’t know what to say.

“Lance.. I..”

“Go away, Keith.”

Lance lowered his head, and let the tears come. They looked like pretty pearls from his cheeks, falling onto the floor. 

Keith stood still, unsure about what to do.

At last, he could finally move his feet.

One step further away from Lance.

Half a step further away.

Then he stopped.

Half a step closer to Lance.

One step closer to Lance.

Within a second, he was crouching over the cuban, stroking his thumbs over his friends dark skin, wiping his salty tears.

Keith put his forehead together with Lances head, still stroking his cheeks.

Lance kept whispering something, but Keith couldn’t catch it. He just hoped he did the right thing. At least his friend wasn’t kicking him, so he guessed it was all right what he did now.

But they couldn’t stay there in the hallway - someone might come and find them. 

They DID leave the party without telling anyone. 

In one movement, Keith swooped his friend into his arms, lowkey struggling to keep him up. 

Lance WAS tall and lanky, after all.

He could feel the warm tears fall onto his own clothes. 

.

.

Lance was silent.

Keith was silent.

They were lying on Keith’s bed, Lance with the duvet curled around him like a burrito. Keith had another duvet that he ‘borrowed’ from Shiro, and wrapped it around himself, but kept it loose enough so he could cuddle with Lance.

And they cuddled.

Lances eyes kept looking away from Keith. 

He seemed bothered, so, so bothered. 

But some kind of happiness was to be found inside his iris somewhere. He wrapped the duvet closer to his own face.

His skin was red and irritated after all the tears.

“Lance..” Keith tried, keeping a soft voice. His hand was suddenly by Lances head, stroking his dark hair.

He didn’t know what to say.

Oh how he wished that Shiro was there to help him. He’d know for sure what to say! 

B ut from what Allura said at the party, he had to rethink that option.

Something had happened when he was gone, and he wished he knew what was going on in Lances head right now.

All the things he’d yelled at Keith while they fought just now.. Where did all this come from? 

This could not be from the time he was gone, could it?

Keith could not believe that Red would do anything to hurt Lance. Nor would he think Shiro would hurt his friend either.

He didn’t want Lance to feel worthless, or abandoned, or ignored.

“I don’t want you to go,” was all he could say.

The blue eyes widened as the words reached him.

[Lance's POV]

The two paladins kept snuggling in Keiths bed while the party kept going. 

Lance wished he hadn’t fought with Keith; the physical and mental damage had taken a toll on him. 

His back hurt like hell, and he was afraid of what Keith was thinking of him now..

He convinced himself that he was the number ONE hated person in his life. But he couldn’t understand why he would still snuggle like that, if that was the case?

He kept thinking of all the things he’d yelled while they were fighting. 

His jealousy went rampage when he mentioned Krolia, and then he just kept rolling with it. That topic was like gasoline on fire; it really was a sore spot for him.    


He’d almost said everything that bothered him; he wanted to die so badly!

Should he make an excuse to leave the room? Should he run off completely? He couldn't run off without a lion; after all, they were too valuable. Keith would get Red assigned to him soon anyway. He could run off then.

Should he talk about his troubles with Keith? 

Lance mentally shook his head. 

He shouldn’t. 

Keith wouldn’t be interested, nor would he take it seriously either.   


He’d laugh at him.    


Then why did Keith go through all that trouble to hold Lance back?

He pulled his legs closer to his stomach, and squinted to let two water drops fall out of his eyes.

“If you have stuff that bothers you, I’d be glad to hear you out. Please don’t shove us away like this.”   


Keith whispered in Lances ear, slowly pulling lance closer to himself. 

His voice sounded sad.

“You want me to be honest?” Lance whispered back.

“Without being kicked, yes.” Keith pushed his nose behind Lances ear, tickling his friend.

Warmth was radiating from their heads, their blushing was too intense.   


Keith was sure Lance hated him, but he couldn’t stop himself from getting a whiff of his smell.   


Lance just KNEW that Keith did this only to tease and mock him, but.. he wasn’t completely sure that was the case anymore.

Slowly, Lance turned to face Keith, making a small smile from his friends comment.

Neither looked at each others face. 

“Can I.. be completely honest?” Lance whispered, eyes locked on Keiths shoulder. 

He had trouble putting on the right mask.   


Keith nodded and whispered a soft “mhm” in return.

“I was.. am jealous of you, for having your mom close right now. I know it sounds bad compared to the fact that you’ve only had her a few weeks now while I’ve had mine my whole life, but.. That’s how I feel. 

Even Pidge got to see her family while we’re up here. I should be happy for you guys. I feel awful for not being that, though..” Keith wiped a tear from Lances chin.   


The cuban had trouble with speaking his mind.

A deep breath in, and the words began flowing again.

“Everyone knows I am homesick, but they treat it like it’s a weakness. They mock me for it, I know! They don’t have any use for a weak paladin, right? I don’t-”

A warm hand stroked Lances hair, pulling him close to a hug. He couldn’t speak, both because of the hug and the shock that THAT was what Keith went for.

A series of tears began to fall again. The feeling of fingers sliding through his hair made him feel so good and nostalgic. 

“But they are right, you know? I’m weak compared to the others. I have no special skills, I don’t have any special personality trait other than flirting with fans, and that isn’t even a good thing! Everyone takes out the enemy before I can pull the trigger, and nobody believes my words or takes me seriously in meetings..”

The stroking stopped for a moment.

Lances mood dropped even further down his hole. 

“ _This is all in your head, Lance. Nobody is refusing to believe you, it’s just that you need to work harder, Lance. This is all your fault and you know it, Lance. Then you should just work harder,_ ” is all he could think of as Keiths reply. 

He was sure Keith would find his thoughts unbelievably stupid.   


He shouldn’t have told him any of this.   


He should make a run for it.

“I’m sorry I didn’t realize,” was barely uttered.

A whisper that could barely hold it together.

Lances eyes widened.

“I’m sorry I didn’t put two and two together. All the things Allura said about you being hard to reach, and Hunks comment about how little you ate with them, and your face when my mom wanted to milk.. I wanted to tell you sooner, all the amazing things you’ve done, I really did..”    


Keith controlled his sobbing surprisingly well.   


Lance guessed he was pretty determined to convey his thoughts.

“Lance,” the red paladin uttered, more comforting than anything he’d ever heard in space.

Their eyes met.

Keiths dark eyes were determined and wet, and the area around his eyes were red and swollen. Probably just as much as Lances.

His eyes were filled with feelings.

“You are the most amazing person I know,” he whispered.

“You don’t mean that. Remember Shiro?” Lance joked.

“He’s like a big brother to me, besides-” Keith smiled as he pulled Lance closer, making their noses touch, “I think you fit the bill as the amazing person.”

Keiths smile was so genuinely cute, Lance had no idea how to react other than stare at Keith in awe. 

Keith was sure he could see sparkles in the blue eyes of his crush.   


He began stroking the cubans dark hair again.

“I just have to tell you how amazing you are, pal.” Keith smiled.

Their noses touched again.

"Please do."


End file.
